Bruce Springsteen draws a line between “The River” and everything that came before it.

“`The River” was my coming-of-age record,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer told the capacity crowd of some 18,000 fans on Sunday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. “Tonight, come with us back down to ”The River” and let”s see what we find.”

With that introduction, the man known to millions as “The Boss” and his mighty E Street Band embarked on an amazing musical journey — performing 1980”s two-disc “The River” from start to finish. It took them roughly two hours to swim all the way through “The River,” before turning their attention to other material.

It was a dream show for the big Boss fans in the house, the ones who might”ve been waiting decades to finally witness such “River” rarities as “Stolen Car” and “Crush on You” performed in concert. I guess when you”ve heard “Born to Run” and “Dancing in the Dark” played a thousand times before, you just plain want something different — even if the song doesn”t rank among Bruce”s best.

However, it was probably a very perplexing, perhaps even infuriating, concert for the rookie fans, who want to hear Springsteen play the hits and nothing but the hits. Instead, they got the twisting, turbulent “River,” which isn”t exactly the singer-songwriter-guitarist”s most easily accessible record.

As the house lights dimmed, Springsteen dove right into “The River” with a strong version of “The Ties That Bind” and then kept moving through decent takes on “Sherry Darling” and “Jackson Cage.” Springsteen had completely locked into the material by end of Side One, delivering a slow, somber and altogether mesmerizing take on “Independence Day,” which the singer-songwriter introduced as “the kind of song you write when you are young.”

The album “The River,” while not without a small handful of flaws, certainly has a lot going for it. It”s well-paced in many different ways, offering up a nice balance of slow and fast, light and dark, bold and beautiful — and all of those things translated on the live stage.

The 66-year-old New Jersey native, who looked and sounded great, did take the time to occasionally play tour guide, telling intriguing stories between songs and shedding much light on the music. It slowed down the evening a bit, but the insight was worth it. Indeed, I wish Springsteen had been in an even more talkative mood.

“The River” peaked with its title track, which closes out Side 2 and still stands among Springsteen”s crowning achievements. Other highlights included the fun singalong “Hungry Heart,” the intense “Point Blank” and the troubled closer “Wreck on the Highway.”

Having finished “The River,” Springsteen and his band stuck around for another 1 hours (approximately) and 14 songs. Yes, that”s right – 14 songs. That”s more than some bands play in an entire concert.

This segment was payback for all the listeners who could”ve cared less about hearing some “River” obscurity like “The Price You Pay.” The Boss stuck to the A-list material, igniting the crowd with such longtime favorites as “Badlands,” “Thunder Road” and “Prove It All Night.”

The band was playing with a freedom — a kind of refreshing, reckless abandon — as it continued through “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and other cuts. The guitar also grew more noticeable in the mix, with E Streeter Nils Lofgren providing the single most electrifying moment of the night with his lead on “Because the Night.”